If you are going t be shooting "softer" non-competition courses order a couple ICs or LMs extended. The extended tubes help protect the end of your barrel. If and when you want to start shooting the harder competition courses you can get a couple tighter tubes or use the tighter chokes you already have. There are going to be plenty of guys tell you to get and shoot tight chokes Not that there's anything wrong with it but you're just in it for fun. I shoot LMs for everything. Best of luck, Steve

 

Thank you

 

Factory flush ckokes work just as intended. That's not going to hinder your scores. You bought a left handed gun and were shooting a right handed Browning. Are you right handed or a south paw? More important than chokes is your gun fit. Brownings and Berettas fit/feel completely different. Some simple common sense questions/answers will help you pin point what's wrong. Good luck and good shooting, Rey

 

thank you

 

Be aware Beretta offers two different "skeet" chokes. The Beretta skeet choke is actually MORE open than cylinder choke. If you want the usual skeet choke (more constriction than cylinder but less than improved cylinder), you have to buy Beretta's "US-Skeet."

Truthfully, though, if you've already got Cylinder, IC and Mod, you've got the bases covered. Splitting hairs with a US-Skeet or Lt. Mod isn't going to magically improve your results.

As for flush-mount vs. extended choke tubes, there is no performance difference. The extended chokes are usually easier to change (perhaps with fingertips) and you can see what choke is in the guns since they're usually labeled on the extended portion. They also help protect the end of your muzzle. But they won't make any difference in terms of pattern or how the bird breaks.

 

thank you

 

I bought a LH 687 a few months ago, really like that gun. The IC tube doesn't fit very well though in either barrel, I basically have to push the choke in to reach the threads to begin tightening it. I'm concerned that after a couple boxes of shells the tube might get stuck in there so I haven't used it. All the others drop in fine. Do you think Beretta USA would send me a replacement tube for something like that?

 

I had a Beretta extended choke tube that was out of round by .017 and it had to be pushed in as you have stated. I sent it back to Beretta and got a replacement credit. If it is out of round, a wad may catch the lip of the choke tube and either blow the tube out of the barrel and damage the threads, or it may not. Call or email them as I did and see what they say.

 

I would use the M & IC chokes. They'll work just fine.

Make sure the gun fits as well, that's more important that new chokes right now. Especially if your use to shooting a RH cast gun

 

Your factory flush chokes that came with the gun should work just fine. If it was mine, I would shoot the chokes it came with and I might think about patterning the chokes if I was having problems.

 

Assuming you are left handed, a 686 SP has cast, your Browning is neutral. You might want to check barrel regulation on a pattern board. I bought one a few years ago that had a seven inch difference in the POI at 32 yards. (within spec according to Beretta). Bottom barrel was low, top was 50/50. If it checks out, shoot the most open chokes you have, which will handle most clubs w/sporting clays courses. Tournament level courses are a different ball game. When you get good, that's when you start tightening your chokes a bit.

 

Shoot the chokes you’ve been using. If you simply must buy something get another flush IC choke and put two of those in your gun. Then just concentrate on the targets.

 

Briley Titanium extended chokes is what I would get. They look really cool and if you miss, you look cool doing it. That was my logic when I bought them. 😉

 

My friend recommended I purchase external tubes in Skeet and IC. I am confused and would appreciate any feedback.

What are the qualifications of your friend to make such a recommendation? i.e. Are they an instructor, serious competitor, etc..?

If you're good enough to determine that an off day was caused by your choke selection - well, you're a better shooter than I am and probably better qualified than your friend to pick out your own chokes.

 

Just my thoughts but you really have everything you need on hand. First a cyl and skeet are very similar. Enough so that you probably wouldn’t notice the difference and certainly close enough to give you a good indication if a skeet choke would be useful to you. I also don’t think you should worry about one or even several low scores getting to know your new gun. Give it a few rounds and I expect it will improve.Finally your friends advice won’t help the situation you describe. Extended chokes don’t pattern different than flush tubes they really only offer convenience when changing tubes since you can just use your fingers.

 

In my case it's a matter of what Case you use for transport. I have an SKB Skeet hard case with storage for tube in the lid. Unfortunately this case is designed to fit 30 inch barrels with only 3/8 inch to spare. So extended chokes with this gun are NOT an option. Another factor involved is that Beretta does NOT offer Optima HP flush mount chokes in Skeet. So I shoot it with Cylinder chokes and it does just fine.

If I ever break down and purchase a Negrini case for my 20 gauge then the need for flush chokes will be gone and I would change to extended chokes without any concerns. One notable advantage to extended chokes is that you can check them for tightness at any time and if one loosens up in the middle of an Event all you have to do is give a hard twist to snug it up enough to remain tight until you finish the event and can then properly tighten that choke with a choke wrench. The second advantage is that there is a much wider selection of extended choke tube. As for shooting properties the differences are so slight you'll have to sit down and count each individual pellet strike to determine that there might be a 1/2 percent variation. In the real world there isn't any difference between extended and flush.